Minister’s Corner: Dealing with panic

Everybody knows what it’s like to panic; and I would venture to say everyone has panicked at one time or another, at least to some degree. Having said that, when some people panic, they come completely unglued. Others face panic more dispassionately in an attempt to mask the fear they feel. Regardless of how we handle panic externally, the internal result is the same. We become immobilized and powerless.
When you read Psalm 31, a psalm of David, you realize he wrote it after he had endured a fit of panic. It almost got the best of him, but he overcame it through the power of God. Now, we aren’t sure exactly what David was going through at the time, though a couple of verses give us a clue. He says in Psalms 31:21-22 (KJV), “Blessed be the Lord: for He showed me his marvelous kindness in a strong city. For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes.” David was under attack, whether figuratively or literally, but he got over it, and if you are under attack today, if you’re tempted to give in to panic, one thing you definitely should not do is trust your feelings.
David felt God had abandoned him. He was suddenly convinced he was all alone and God could do nothing to help. He was looking solely at the circumstance. In like fashion, when we are under attack, some of us are programmed to look at the circumstances, listen to our feelings, and base our beliefs on what appears to be true, rather than on the promise of God’s word. Your feelings may tell you God has deserted you, but we read in Hebrews 13:5 (KJV) the Lord said, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.”
Regardless of what you are facing, your feelings may tell you this is more than you can handle and you are in this thing alone, but the word of God specifically tells us we will never face a situation that is more than we can bear, and that God will give us strength to face anything that comes our way.